It's not MacMini, it's not AppleTV, it's an Apple Console!

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2014
It is not MacMini, and it is not AppleTV. This is AppleConsole: a new combination of game console and Apple TV. Think about it:

1. Apple MUST get into games, it's the fastest growing segment worth $billions.

- There is no clear leader in game consoles. Big Boys PS3 and X-Box get trounced in sales by Wii! Apple can to do a better "iWii" than Nintendo, just like they did a better phone than Nokia/Motorola/RIM.

- iPhone became a huge mini-gaming console success through AppleStore.

2. Apple MUST be a leader in living-room set-top-box media entertainment. That is the ultimate next consumer appliance/application.

- AppleTV is pretty powerful already with link to iTunes for music, film, serials, as well as photos, YouTube, etc.

So what they will introduce at CeBIT (largest consumer show in Europe) is AppleConsole:

- MacMini/AppleTV form-factor, small and neat;

- BlueRay drive (sure, not nice to iTunes store, but necessary for games and non-iTunes movies);

- 5 USB ports to connect various user devices (multi-player fun);

- processor (Atom) and graphics (NVidia) for HDD films/games/music/photos, cost-effective but very capable for the job, on OS X.

- large HDD (rumors were of up to 1TB, sounds too much, but with HDD at 30Gb this will fill quickly, perhaps a 500Gb/1TB options?)

- sold at current AppleTV price $239- (that would be subsidized, but did not Apple say in Q3 earnings call they plan to release a product at low margin? Apple would not release a low-margin product unless they bid on something big. Such as the living room $$$ plus money from iTunes/AppleStore downloads later).

- Are they not looking for a senior web design guy? For the new AppleLive (iLive) perhaps, a real-time on-line gaming extension of AppleStore?

- Have they not invested $b in Apple Retail Stores, completely counter-intuitive to current distribution of PCs, unless you are selling community/experience/feeling, not PCs... living room entertainment.

- rumour of the jaw-dropping new thing, that did not make MacWorld?



And one last thing:

- iPhones as user controls for the games?

- iPhone games play immediately on big screen?

- iPhone nano rumour perhaps the remote control?



Now that would be awesome... but:

- no HDMI interface on the box. Hmm... unless one of those 2 ports will in fact be HDMI. 1 x HDMI and 1 x AppleDisplay makes sense?

- It seems Apple has not stand at CeBIT. Hmm...
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 24
    mr. memr. me Posts: 3,221member
    Oh God, not this again



    Please do a Google search on Pippin!



    In this tough economy economy, you believe that Apple needs a product that loses a ton of money? I mean come on! Microsoft lost money on every Xbox sold. It loses money on every Xbox 360 sold. The money is not in the consoles; it is in the games themselves. That is why Microsoft bought-up so many gaming companies.
  • Reply 2 of 24
    @homenow@homenow Posts: 998member
    The biggest problem with a game machine is not the box but the games. Apple would have to get enough third party developers onboard to have a good showing on release of popular titles, new titles, and a few released solely for the Apple console.
  • Reply 3 of 24
    outsideroutsider Posts: 6,008member
    These guys are right. It's not the hardware; look at the meager offering of the Wii. It's the games. Now if they had a controller like the iPhone/Wii and let you use something like the iPhone SDK, maybe it could take off. But that's a HUGE 'if'.
  • Reply 4 of 24
    utisnum1utisnum1 Posts: 138member
    Apple should not get into games. It isn't there market and they don't support most games for the Mac to begin with so why make a game console? I'm sure the external look would look really nice but it would be over priced since they can't make anything under 500 dollars that isn't "crap". They don't know how to ship "junk".
  • Reply 5 of 24
    Although he lost me completely at "Atom Processor" I think you guys missed the bit where he says





    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Kosmopolak View Post


    - iPhone games play immediately on big screen?



    which immediately negates your arguments about the GAMES not being there. kinda. you know, before you refute, perhaps you read and digest whats being said?



    not to mention you including the PS3 and 360 not making any money on the consoles, but then ignoring the FACT that Nintendo DO make money on each console, so ts not unheard of
  • Reply 6 of 24
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Apple console is not happening. An Apple Tele yes, with some casual games possibly, but not an Apple console; not in their pipeline.



    Apple will eventually make a TV; like I have been saying for two years. So it's impossible to accurately predict the timeline, but it's a very good bet to place. They will make a television, but they'll do such a damn fine job they'll practically redefine what a TV is, how easy it is to setup and use, and how powerful and multi-purpose (with ease) it can also be. It will have an information dashboard for news, weather, currency etc., with a dedicated button on their newly designed Apple TV Remote™ for bringing it up. That's where I believe they are headed, and yes, I have no proof - but that didn't stop me being completely convinced they were going to make a phone, it was, like TV's, simply too obvious. They want the living room, they like AIO, they like convergence, they know design and software, they know style and easy of use, and the content is getting there. They will be in a position shortly to make a TV, which the content to play on it they'll distribute to it. Rest assured; one of the most expensive pieces of CE in your house, they want to take a stab at this one. It's right down their alley.
  • Reply 7 of 24
    smilingoatsmilingoat Posts: 153member
    game consoles are remarkably different than computers or cell phones.



    you need connections in the game industry, because many of the best games out there are third party games, this is why microsoft turned out to be so good at it, they know how to build a relationship and create a list of compatible softwares that is better than all other offerings... which is what they have done, which is why the PS2 went from 70%+ market share to the PS3 in last place with less than 20% market share. they also already had a game studio, unlike apple.



    apple has enough trouble getting companies to produce games on its OS, and the market has never been able to support more than 3 different consoles, and all 3 are doing well enough to continue on... apple tried to do this before...



    if they wanted to do they would have to wait until there was only 2 consoles on the market, just as microsoft had to do to get into the console market.
  • Reply 8 of 24
    smilingoatsmilingoat Posts: 153member
    game consoles are remarkably different than computers or cell phones.



    you need connections in the game industry, because many of the best games out there are third party games, this is why microsoft turned out to be so good at it, they know how to build a relationship and create a list of compatible softwares that is better than all other offerings... which is what they have done, which is why the PS2 went from 70%+ market share to the PS3 in last place with less than 20% market share. they also already had a game studio, unlike apple.



    apple has enough trouble getting companies to produce games on its OS, and the market has never been able to support more than 3 different consoles, and all 3 are doing well enough to continue on... apple tried to do this before...



    if they wanted to do they would have to wait until there was only 2 consoles on the market, just as microsoft had to do to get into the console market.
  • Reply 9 of 24
    @homenow@homenow Posts: 998member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Walter Slocombe View Post


    ...which immediately negates your arguments about the GAMES not being there. kinda. you know, before you refute, perhaps you read and digest whats being said?



    not to mention you including the PS3 and 360 not making any money on the consoles, but then ignoring the FACT that Nintendo DO make money on each console, so ts not unheard of



    I did read it, iPhone games are no where in the league of a console game. They would need console class games for it to be competitive. They would also need a mix of some of the leading games available at release as well as some that are released only for the platform that they are releasing.



    Now, given Apple's app store model they could potentially capitalize on that to have a non-optical game system which could lower the price point of the system. They could also add in AppleTV function to it which could make it of more value, but some of the other systems have comparable capabilities to display other media. Apple does have the experience with Wii type controller functions which they could add in, but is all this enough to compete?



    Also the gaming market is a lot different in other ways as well. You can't hold back on announcements of the system or release dates because you are relying on 3rd party developers to come out with games. They need to develop, test, and market these.



    Look at how long the consoles are in development AFTER they have been announced. As I recall in most cases, if not all, they are announced close to a year before release of the system. Apple does not work that way, and I think that it would be hard for them to change their culture to accommodate these announcements. Sure there are exceptions, but in general it is not the way that Apple works.
  • Reply 10 of 24
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    I think Apple's future is clearly in the area of socks for everything. Not just for iPods anymore! Mac socks, iPhone socks... even sock socks!
  • Reply 11 of 24
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,310moderator
    The next Ion-based Apple TV will be their console as it already has a distribution channel via ITMS. The 9400M is very powerful and capable of running higher than original XBox level graphics, which is all that is needed.



    They can stream HD movies so 700MB-1GB games should be fine.



    The games themselves are still an issue but Apple can sell developers on the point that the same games will likely run on the iphone with just some modifications to the controls.



    The total number of iphone/ipod touch/ATV users exceed the XBox 360 and PS3. Plus the distribution channel is covered with very little cost.



    As for the controller, there would have to be one designed. It can't be touch-based as you'd be looking at the pad. Apple's Mighty Mouse suggests to me they don't know how to build certain types of input device reliably. Maybe they could even get the wii-mote to work with the device.



    Even if they port some older games, they will make some good sales like Beyond Good & Evil, Jak & Daxter etc. The ITMS will be an advantage because when someone gets the urge to buy a new game, they log on and download within an hour.
  • Reply 12 of 24
    hiimamachiimamac Posts: 584member
    Friend of mine, head of visuals, apple store - says he's (they) are getting ready to do a store overhaul.



    Will keep you posted as to when....

    They don't know much until the night before.
  • Reply 13 of 24
    slackulaslackula Posts: 262member
    About the only way Apple would get into the console market would be for someone to get Jason Jones from Bungie drunk some evening and sign an agreement stating that the next Halo installment after Halo 3: ODST would be an exclusive title only on the new Apple console....
  • Reply 14 of 24
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Ireland View Post


    Apple will eventually make a TV; like I have been saying for two years.



    Cling to that faith, you crazy diamond...
  • Reply 15 of 24
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Ireland View Post


    Apple console is not happening. An Apple Tele yes, with some casual games possibly, but not an Apple console; not in their pipeline.



    Apple will eventually make a TV; like I have been saying for two years. So it's impossible to accurately predict the timeline, but it's a very good bet to place. They will make a television, but they'll do such a damn fine job they'll practically redefine what a TV is, how easy it is to setup and use, and how powerful and multi-purpose (with ease) it can also be. It will have an information dashboard for news, weather, currency etc., with a dedicated button on their newly designed Apple TV Remote? for bringing it up. That's where I believe they are headed, and yes, I have no proof - but that didn't stop me being completely convinced they were going to make a phone, it was, like TV's, simply too obvious. They want the living room, they like AIO, they like convergence, they know design and software, they know style and easy of use, and the content is getting there. They will be in a position shortly to make a TV, which the content to play on it they'll distribute to it. Rest assured; one of the most expensive pieces of CE in your house, they want to take a stab at this one. It's right down their alley.



    Good Grief charlie brown!



    but hey, you DID say you would shut up with the TV thing in September 2009! remember?



    can't wait for October, personally
  • Reply 16 of 24
    webmailwebmail Posts: 639member
    Food is a billion / trillion dollar market, why must apple ignore this market as well. The reason apple does so well is it's very, very small group of products, compare it to say microsoft's product lineup.



    No gaming console will come from apple. Thank you for playing!



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Walter Slocombe View Post


    Good Grief charlie brown!



    but hey, you DID say you would shut up with the TV thing in September 2009! remember?



    can't wait for October, personally



  • Reply 17 of 24
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by webmail View Post


    Food is a billion / trillion dollar market, why must apple ignore this market as well.



    Apple are in the CE and computer business. TV's are part of that business. Apple makes a device to connect to your TV. Apple distributes movies and TV Shows directly to these boxes, for play back on TV. Apple makes AIO computers with big displays. Apple wants the living room. Do you not see the bigger picture here? Wake up people! You can bring a horse to water...
  • Reply 18 of 24
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    I think this is what people are missing, the consoles primary focus will still be the Apple TV market. In many ways the environment will be like the Touch where games aren't the primary focus there either.



    In any event those here pooping on Atim ought to look closely at how it compares to the Power PC cores found on the game consoles. It isn't that bad in comparison and frankly niether are the new Cortex processors from ARM.



    With either platform Apple has the potential to enter the market with a very low cost box. Further they can potentially introduce a box with a lot of main memory. 2GB of memory ought to be cost effective in a $200 box.







    Dave
  • Reply 19 of 24
    To clarify, I believe next AppleTV will be a great AppleTV AND for the price will introduce game console functionality via iTAS, possibly BlueRay. And it will tie-in to iPhone more than just as iPhone Remote. And Intel Macs will play those games as well. And it will be more like Wii than PS3/X-Box but better than all 3 and that is why it will kill them. And it will be in $200-300 range. And it will be this year. And I bet a bottle of good red on this with a friend, so I put my money where my mouth is :-)
  • Reply 20 of 24
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,310moderator
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Slackula View Post


    About the only way Apple would get into the console market would be for someone to get Jason Jones from Bungie drunk some evening and sign an agreement stating that the next Halo installment after Halo 3: ODST would be an exclusive title only on the new Apple console....



    Given that Marathon was on the Pippin, it would be ironic. It can't happen though as Microsoft own the rights to Halo, not Bungie.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Walter Slocombe


    but hey, you DID say you would shut up with the TV thing in September 2009! remember?



    He'll 'forget' and extend the time until Apple actually do it. The more that technology progresses, the more likely radical products can happen.



    In 2012 when they make display panels so thin you can cut yourself on them and solid state drives are £50 for 120GB, Atom is at quad cores or more and we have a GTX 280 architecture integrated, someone will say, 'hey how about making an Apple TV out of this?' and Ireland will come back and say 'I told you so, I told you they'd make one and you said I was crazy'.



    Mind you the internet will replace/merge with the TV network by then so it won't really be a TV, just another computer.
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